Dr. King's Use Of Figurative Language

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ““Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand’s of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” This is just one of the hundreds of powerful quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In his writing and speeches, he used his words as a way to engage his audience and keep pulling them in. Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors in his letter to appeal to the audience from an emotional angle; he uses other figurative language, as well as an urgent tone to make his text relatable and important.

"I Have A Dream" is a mesmerizing speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was delivered to the thousands of Americans on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to African American under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than forty years ago, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech demanded racial justice towards the mistreated black community of America. The theme of the speech was that all humans were created equal and that this should be the case for the future of America. King's words proved to touch the hearts of millions of people and gave the nation a vocabulary to express what was happening to the black Americans. This did not happen by chance. Martin Luther King's speech was carefully constructed so it would have the most appropriate diction to propose his facts and ideas. His speech involved multiple different literary techniques which were very

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech (1963) "I Have a Dream," brings an up-roaring excitement to his audience, African-Americans, which fills their hearts. He employ's cases of diction and parallelism, telling everyone that he wants African-Americans to be truly free. This turned the tides for African-Americans in the United States, filling them with enthusiasm and the yearning for change.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

Dr. King used pathos and logos as well as ethos in his speech to appeal to the audience in a more emotional way. He mostly attempts to appeal to the audiences’ emotions, fears, and desires. When King repeats with the infamously famous quote, “I have a dream,” he stresses a sense of sympathy and hope towards the African American population during that time period. King states that the, “Negro…finds himself in exile in his own land.” In this phrase, King yields compassion as one can see when he emphasizes the unfair treatment and alienation of the African Americans. King also uses highly connotative language so that he could evoke a, emotional response to the audience such as, “chains of discrimination” and “oppression” to reinforce the need

In addition to King’s uses of allusions, the speech contains many contrasting metaphors and similes that influence his audience very effectively. He begins by pointing out that even though Negros are freed from slavery, they are still slaves “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” King then goes on about how “America has given the negro people a bad check” whereas the check in this instance symbolizes their right to equality because the mistreatment of the Negroes and racial discrimination is evident and the check “has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’” meaning they have yet to feel what they too, are guaranteed. With that understanding of human nature, Martin Luther King, Jr. compares gradualism to a tranquilizing drug, implying that people have a tendency to relax when things are “cooling off.” But he urges for his people not to relax and to take charge “to make justice in reality for all of God’s children.”

Martin Luther King Jr uses repetition, concrete diction, and tone in his speech to distinguish between the ways someone acts, gets treated based on the colour of their skin and the ways that they feel. In his speech, King says “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring” a lot to show repetition. He also uses concrete detail when explaining how the blacks no longer want to be disrespected or be under their discriminating rules. King’s final way of expressing himself is through tone, he changes his tone when saying what him and his people want. The purpose of this speech is for people of all colours to understand that King tried to spread a message that he wanted a better community without racial discrimination and rights for black people.

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

King also uses allusion to augment his point in his speech. Throughout his speech he makes many references to the Bible. “…justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (King). King alludes to the bible verse Amos 5:24. Through the allusion, King depicts that he wants justice to overtake the injustices of discrimination, and for justice to not only overcome discrimination, but for it to flow through America forever. King believed that humans live in a world where God does not judge people by their race and that people should not judge each other off of the color of their skin. “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (King). This line in King’s speech alludes to the bible verses Isaiah 40:4-5. Although he does not quote the verses verbatim, this connects King’s message with the religious sides of people, as the majority of people practiced Christianity in America at this time. King dreams that one day

Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” was a very inspiring and influential speech in American history and a stand for equal rights. His speech confronted racism in America. This was a remarkable moment in history for equal rights which is remembered to this day. “When all of God’s children, black men, and white men, Jews, and Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing,” “Free at last! Free at last!)”

King inspires those who support equal rights for all “ to rise up from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice”.and stand up for what they believe. He insists that people who believe in the cause to speak up and join together as one voice, to demand equal rights that they deserve. In addition King uses Light and Dark imagery to make a statement on how people have been waiting a long time to receive equality and the same freedom as everyone else. He does this by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, and how “ It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

King is extremely emotive in his speech, and uses incredibly descriptive and poetic phrasing to demonstrate the eloquence of his argument. His use of words like "Now" and "today" imply a great need for immediate action regarding civil rights; the fact that he is so well-spoken is intentionally utilized in the speech to lend credence to his words. Given the stereotype at the time that blacks were unintelligent and uneducated, King 's responsibility to show the capabilities of black rhetoric was great. King, as a religious man, brings spirituality into the speech itself, but not in a self-aggrandizing way; he merely states that racial justice should be done as it is according to God 's will.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses figurative language to manipulate people in his “I Have A Dream” speech. For example, in his speech he mentions that our nation will be transformed into an “oasis of freedom and justice”(165). He uses a metaphor by comparing an oasis to justice and freedom without using “like” or “as”. He does this to give the reader and the people listening the feeling of hydration, the thought of something beautiful, and the thought of something that gives them relief and freedom. Furthermore, he also mentions that we can “...transform the jangling discord of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood”(165). He uses this metaphor by comparing our nation to jangling discords without the use of “like” or “as”. He does

"We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice". [Avoid starting a paragraph on a quote. Instead, create a strong transition sentence in your own words]With these words, King employs the technique of logos, the logic, as he appeals to the African American population not to give up their fight for civil equality. Furthermore, the organization of the speech is also quite logical. For instance, King begins by alluding to history, and then he portrays a picture of a seething American nightmare of racial injustice and ends the speech with dramatic future by painting the dream of a better, fairer future of racial harmony and integration [Maybe a little more on logos].